The iconic Australian musician has been sharing cryptic messages in recent months, and fans are only asking more questions on the back of his latest social media post.

In clips shared to the Silverchair frontman's Instagram, captioned "It's happening", it was revealed that Johns made a surprise appearance at the soundcheck of local band The Lizards' show earlier this year at Little Bosa in Port Elliot, South Adelaide. The band were playing Silverchair's debut album Frogstomp in full to celebrate the record's 30th anniversary.

Per the video, Johns "just rocks up at soundcheck, played with The Lizards for a bit, did a jam, and it was just really odd", before returning later in the night for the gig. He is believed to have shown up quietly as the show started as "Dan didn't want to freak anyone out" and watched from the kitchen: "Then Dan just disappeared. Just vanished. It was so trippy, but it happened. I filmed a bit on my phone because I knew no one would believe me. It was crazy."

It comes after Johns posted a black-and-white Polaroid on his Instagram in June, paired with short clips of himself tearing through a frantic guitar piece. The captions read: "5 Minute Warning," "Stand 'em up against the wall," and "This concludes the intermission — see you in 1995. #FutureNever."

The posts continue a run of unusual updates in recent weeks, with Johns dropping hints about "time travelling" and slipping in references to 1994. For Johns, 1994 is more than just a throwback. It was the year Silverchair broke through with their debut EP Tomorrow, whose title track topped the ARIA Charts.

Back in April, on his 46th birthday, Johns reemerged on Instagram for the first time since October 2023, writing: "I have to go back in time to finalise something."

Silverchair celebrated the Frogstomp anniversary with a special event in Sydney in March, though Johns was not in attendance.

In 2023, his Silverchair bandmates Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou teamed up to release the memoir Love & Pain, which covered the rise of Silverchair as a burgeoning trio from Newcastle to one of the world's biggest acts.

At the time, Johns pushed for the removal of a two-part Australian Story documentary from ABC iView ahead of the book's release, claiming he had not cleared the rights to Silverchair songs being used in the programme. 

"I was and remain incredibly supportive of them telling their story," Johns wrote on Instagram.

"I was asked at the end of filming to be interviewed about their contribution to the band and although I wished them all the best, I respectfully declined for one reason.

"I haven't been involved in the book nor am I aware of the contents. I've asked on many occasions to read the book but haven't been sent a copy, consequently I was uncomfortable being interviewed to help promote it."

Johns' last offering of new music came in 2022 with his second studio album, FutureNever, which also hit #1 in Australia and picked up ARIA, APRA and AIR Award nominations.